Working on the sphere was interesting, to say the very least. Varian was way outside of his comfort zone as far as alchemy was involved, and yet it felt very familiar. This was his element, his passion, even if it was a bit too magical for his liking.

The situation was very serious, but Varian couldn't help but find this research a little fun. Not only did he have Demanitus' resources at his disposal, but he was able to work with his dad for once, and he could have some fun working with Rapunzel.

He still felt conflicted about her, but being around Rapunzel it was so easy to remember why he had seen her as a friend in the first place, despite not actually knowing her very well. Rapunzel was kind, and enthusiastic, and had the potential to be a really good scholar if she applied herself and had the interest. If it weren't for the fact that she was the princess of Corona, which added a lot of complicated baggage, Varian would consider her a perfect friend.

Rapunzel was a really good alchemy assistant. She offered suggestions when Varian got stumped, but she didn't get bitter and upset if her ideas weren't listened to. She also had an above average knowledge about basic science, which definitely helped.

Of course, a big reason why Varian could work decently with Rapunzel was because he was more willing to trust her than before. It was all because of the way that she handled Hector.

Varian had been feeling frustrated and guilty when he learned that Xavier was helping him. Varian had hurt the people of Corona, and that included Xavier. He didn't deserve the man's forgiveness and compassion, but it was given to him, along with the precious metal that he needed.

Varian wasn't used to compassion and selflessness except from family. In Varian's limited experience, even friends didn't do something for nothing.

Varian had gotten so caught up in his own mind that he hadn't noticed when Hector woke up, and neither did his dad. Nobody did except for Rapunzel. Even though she didn't know Hector very well, and what experience she did have with him wasn't very good, she'd helped him. Varian didn't know how or why, but Rapunzel had been able to calm him down before he could even start to freak out.

Hector still wasn't doing well, but he didn't look like he was about to break at the seams. He was able to handle being awake for long enough to eat some food and spend some time with the others before he'd gone back to sleep.

Rapunzel had stayed by Hector's side, humming or singing that old incantation of hers when he started to get upset, and he would immediately begin to calm down. It was strange. Hector still couldn't hear anything, so logically he shouldn't find comfort from singing. Varian wished he knew what was going on, but he wasn't about to complain about it.

In fact, Varian refrained from pointing out to Rapunzel that Hector couldn't hear anything. That might encourage her to stop singing. To Varian it didn't matter that it didn't make sense. Hector was okay, and that was all that mattered.

Besides when any of them were checking on Hector, Varian, his dad, and Rapunzel spent all day doing research. By dinner time Varian felt ready to make the actual sphere. If Varian was working alone and starting from scratch in his own home, it would probably take him weeks to get to the point where he could make a prototype.

Working with his dad and Rapunzel though, and having so many resources at his disposal, it sped things up. It also helped that Varian wasn't making something new, he was just expanding on something that he'd already mastered.

Under different circumstances Varian might still take some extra time at this stage, just to be sure that things went well, but he didn't want to take more time than was needed. Hector was hurting right now. They didn't have weeks to spare. Right now close enough would have to be good enough, just as long as it really was close enough.

When it came to making the actual sphere was when Rapunzel's help was most valued. Varian knew how to make glass spheres, but he had no idea how to incorporate gold and silver into it. Rapunzel was much more creatively inclined than Varian was, and she knew at least had an idea of how to add gold and silver accents and streaks to the glass, so it will still be just as shatterable as normal glass.

While Rapunzel worked on the sphere Varian worked on the mercury formula that he would be putting inside of the sphere. His dad watched him very carefully, because mercury was a potentially dangerous element. Varian took his time. He started by adding a little bit of mercury to a small amount of his normal goo, just to make sure that it was still sticky. When Varian's first experiment worked he added a little bit more mercury to the solution, and then a little more.

Varian needed the goo to still be sticky, because they couldn't really trap anything if the goo didn't stick, but he wanted there to be as much mercury as possible in it. If the mercury was the key to trapping a spirit, they couldn't just use the minimal amount.

Varian wanted to experiment with the ratio until he got it just right, but he had a limited amount of mercury on hand. If getting this ratio right wasn't completely vital then Varian would be using all of the mercury for the sphere. As it was, he needed to make a necessary sacrifice.

Varian and Rapunzel both worked for a few hours before they were as satisfied as they could be with their individual components. They were ready…well, nearly. Varian was tired and having a hard time staying awake, and Rapunzel knew that her dad would be wondering where she was. They needed to put a hold on things until they were rested and ready to do…whatever it was that they were going to end up doing. Honestly, Varian didn't know how things would turn out.

"I'll see if I can come back tomorrow." Rapunzel said. "If you can't wait for me, don't worry about it. Do what you need to do." Rapunzel gave Varian a smile, almost shy smile as she brushed her hair behind her ear. "And I…I had fun today."

Varian couldn't help but return her smile. "So did I."

"Maybe we can do this kind of thing again some time." Rapunzel said. "You know, when things aren't so bad."

"I think I'd like that." Varian said, and he was surprised to find that he meant it.

For months Varian had been dealing with the conflicting feelings of wanting to be friends with Rapunzel again, and being afraid of letting himself get closer to her again. Varian had mentioned it to Hector once, and his uncle said it might have something to do with the whole moonstone and sundrop situation. The celestial elements were drawn to each other, which was why the black rocks had reacted so much to Rapunzel, and why they'd thought that she'd be able to balance out the powers of the moonstone.

When Varian was still furious with Rapunzel he hated the desire to be her friend. Now it just felt natural, and Varian was at peace with the idea. It still felt a little weird that a big reason why he might want to be friends with Rapunzel was because of the magical moonstone and sundrop, but Varian just did his best to not think too hard about it, at least for now.

Maybe when they got rid of Zhan Tiri he'd have the focus to spare to actually research how the moonstone and sundrop affected him and Rapunzel beyond just the magical powers. Rapunzel might even want to join him in the research and study. She seemed to have a certain fascination in knowledge, and Varian couldn't imagine why anybody wouldn't want to learn more about their own powers.

Rapunzel wiped her hands on her dress, seeming completely unbothered by how dirty it was. She suddenly paused, looking thoughtful. "You know, I haven't really thought about it. Will you guys even be in Corona after all of this is over?"

"I-I don't think so." Varian said honestly. He rubbed his arm, feeling awkward. "Even if I wasn't a wanted criminal here I don't know if I'd want to stay here. There's too many bad memories, you know?"

Rapunzel looked disappointed, but she gave Varian a small smile. "I guess you guys will be going back to the Dark Kingdom."

"Probably." Varian said. They hadn't come up with a solid plan yet, as there was so much more going on, but returning to the Dark Kingdom had definitely been an option. "I'll try to get rid of the rest of the black rocks around Corona first." While in Old Corona Varian had taken care of the black rocks there, as well as in the surrounding woods.

"You don't have to do that." Rapunzel said.

"Yeah, I kinda do." Varian said. "Considering I'm the only one who can do anything about them." And Varian owed a lot to the people of Corona. Besides, while his father had been a big reason why he had lashed out against the royal family of Corona, at least part of his motivation had been to bring awareness to the black rock problem. If he got rid of the black rocks then he would have accomplished everything that he'd set out to do. No more loose ends.

"Well, we'll appreciate anything you do." Rapunzel said. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement as she thought of an idea. "And if you're going back to the Dark Kingdom I guess we'll have to come by to visit."

"You…huh?" What Rapunzel had said was simple enough, but Varian had a hard time understanding it.

"Eugene's finally been reunited with his dad. It wouldn't be fair to ask him to never see him again." Rapunzel said. "And if you'd want to, I'd love to spend more time with you. Especially if we're somewhere that maybe you feel more comfortable and safe." Rapunzel closed her eyes and sighed. "You have no idea how much I want you to be safe."

"I think I've forgotten what being safe feels like." Varian admitted. He came pretty close now that he was with his family, but his uncle was being haunted by a demon sorcerer, and they were in the kingdom of Corona. It wasn't exactly a safe environment.

"You'll figure it out." Rapunzel gave him a small smile. She nodded at Varian. "Get some sleep. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Goodnight, Princess Rapunzel." Varian said.

"Goodnight, Varian." Rapunzel said. She walked towards Eugene and Lance, who were talking to Edmund and Adira. They exchanged a few words before Rapunzel and Lance left the chambers. Eugene stayed, probably so he could talk to his dad and get to know him some more. For all that they'd been traveling together these past few months, they still barely knew each other. This would be good for them.

Varian carefully put aside the glass sphere that Rapunzel had made and the sticky substance that he had put together. He desperately hoped that they would work. Varian stretched, feeling just a little stiff after the long day of sitting and working. He was tired.

Varian gathered his cloak around him, flipping up the boar hood that he had once found unsettling. It was a source of comfort now. Varian joined the Brotherhood, sitting next to his dad and Hector.

Varian curled up against his dad, relaxing against him as he ran his hand through his hair. He started to doze off to the sound of his family talking.

Varian hoped that this plan worked. If it didn't, well, he had a few other potential ideas swimming around his head. It wouldn't be too difficult to develop them, but Varian would much rather not have to do that. He always preferred to get things right the first time, even if things rarely turned out that way.

This plan should work out well enough. They'd thought it through, and talked through the possibilities and theoreticals. They did their best to plan things out. All there was left to do was put the components together, throw the sphere at Zhan Tiri, and then hopefully all of this would be over.

…wait…wait a second…oh no.

Varian shot up with a gasp, startling his dad.

"Varian, Varian, what's wrong?" Quirin put his hands on Varian's shoulders to try to calm him.

"We can't see her." Varian felt like such an idiot. He fiddled with the moonstone. "Dad, none of us can see Zhan Tiri. How are we supposed to trap her if we don't know where she is?" They only had one shot at this, so they couldn't just throw the sphere in a vague direction that she might be in. They had to know exactly where she was, and that was impossible.

Quirin's face fell, though he didn't look nearly as stressed as Varian was. He looked at Hector. "Well, one of us can see her."

Varian shuddered. That wasn't fair. They were here to help Hector, to shoulder the weight that was just a little too heavy for him to carry on his own. They did their best to support Hector, and fight his battles for him, and yet he was the only one who could banish this demon.

Quirin sighed and pulled Varian closer, encouraging him to lean against him again. "You've done all you could. We all have. This is Hector's fight now, but I'm sure he'll be fine. Hector's the strongest person I know. If anybody can banish the demon it's him."

Hector was so tired of fighting.

He'd been fighting his whole life. It was the one thing that he considered to be his, something that hadn't been ingrained in him by somebody else. His father had taught him to be obedient. Quirin had taught him how to have self-confidence in himself. Edmund had taught Hector about the importance of loyalty and protecting the moonstone, and Adira had shown him how to be confident.

Hector had taught himself how to fight, not just physically, but mentally as well. No matter how many people tried to tear him down Hector stood his ground. The only person he stood no chance against was himself, and apparently Zhan Tiri.

She seemed to know exactly how to get under his skin, no matter how hard he tried to ignore her. She could read his mind. She knew all the worst things that he had ever thought about himself, every terrible insecurity that he couldn't quite get rid of, and she was a master of timing, knowing what to say when to have the biggest impact.

And she knew when to keep quiet.

Hector hadn't heard a word from Zhan Tiri since she had shut off his hearing, but that didn't mean that she was gone completely. He could still see her, and even if he couldn't hear her voice he could tell that she was in his thoughts.

If she wasn't, then Hector's thoughts were betraying him even more than before. Or maybe they'd always been this bad, and it was just a lot easier to ignore it and block out the worst of it when there was other stuff going on around him.

Hector's thoughts spiraled as he tried to sleep. His attempts weren't nearly as successful as he wanted it to be. He was able to nap and doze, but it never lasted for more than an hour or two at a time. He was just really good at faking being asleep. His siblings were concerned enough for him as it was. He didn't want to distract them from the tasks they had given themselves.

He could fool his siblings, but he couldn't fool himself or Zhan Tiri, which meant that his thoughts were strong enough to drive him wild, and it was so hard to tell what was him and what was Zhan Tiri, if there was even a difference between them in his thoughts.

He was starting to second guess his decision to go along with this plan, for a number of reasons. For one thing, Hector didn't want to be a burden on his family. He liked their support when it was given to him, but he didn't like the thought of taking them from something that they would probably rather do.

Then there was the fact that they were here in the capital, so close to the people that had hurt Varian, and wouldn't hesitate to do so again. It just didn't feel right to have the kid be in danger for his sake. It shouldn't be Varian's job to protect him. It was supposed to be the other way around.

A large reason why Hector was feeling uncertain about this was because of Zhan Tiri herself. He'd been so sure about this plan, because he just wanted Zhan Tiri to be gone. If they could successfully get rid of her then the risk would be well worth it. Yesterday though, shortly after they arrived here, a sudden thought had come to Hector's mind, feeling like a punch to the gut. It made his stomach sink and made him feel like he was going to be sick.

What if, after they got rid of Zhan Tiri, Hector's hearing didn't come back. Hector hoped that his hearing would return once she was gone, because that was sometimes how magic worked. But sometimes the way that magic worked was that once a spell was cast, it stayed that way until the spell was actively broken.

Hector didn't even know if magic was responsible for this. Zhan Tiri was probably the only one who knew for sure. How was he supposed to fix this on his own when he didn't even know what this was?

Hector hated it, but the thought came to his mind that he could ask Zhan Tiri to give him his hearing back. He could make a deal with her. So far Zhan Tiri had shown that she was a demon of her word. If he could get her to agree to a deal, he could have his hearing back, and he might not even have to give up that much in the first place. Zhan Tiri would probably just want him to stir up a fight between Varian and Rapunzel. Would it really be that big of a deal if Varian stood up for himself to a princess that he was far too quick to trust.

The thought was so tempting, and it took every bit of will-power that Hector had to not give in. He came so close, but then the princess had joined them in the chamber and provided comfort to Hector when he really didn't deserve it.

He couldn't hear her, but somehow he could tell that she was singing to him. He didn't really know how he could tell, it just felt right. He couldn't hear her words or the tune but he couldn't help but feel comforted by just her presence. He didn't know why, and that bothered him, but the comfort was much stronger than his confusion.

At this point he was going to take what he could get, even from a royal pain of a princess. Of course, since she was helping him, and Hector saw for himself that she really wasn't that bad, he was even more reluctant to turn her and Varian against each other. Because of how messed up Hector's head was, that was when the idea started to get even louder in his head and he just couldn't shake it.

Hector just wanted it to stop. He didn't want to struggle just for his own sanity. He just wanted some peace for once in his life. Was that really too much to ask for? Apparently it was.

It was just…so exhausting. Hector was tired. He fought so hard and gave everything he had, and for what? A potential moment of peace before things got even worse? What was the point?

Hector was sure that if he talked to his siblings then they would be quick to remind him what the point was. They'd be able to get him his fire and fighting spirit back, but he couldn't talk to them. Sure, he could do the tedious writing thing, but it was such a pain and just not the same, and no matter what they said to him it might not get past his frustration about having to write everything out just to have a simple conversation.

That was way too much effort to make just to get some empty reassurances that he'd end up forgetting about in just an hour

He was just so tired of everything.